Chapter Summaries

Ah Xing explained Sadako’s powers and the limits of destroying her videotape to Coulson and Tony. Afterward, Jiang Xiang spent his rewards on Gold and Platinum Boxes, obtaining several useful items and an Akainu incarnation card.

• Coulson persuaded Ah Xing to explain Sadako, while the agents uncovered a videotape and Tony offered Stark Tower as a quiet place to talk.
• Ah Xing said Sadako was a supernatural being with many powers, including the ability to alter reality, and explained that destroying her videotape would not prevent her from being reborn elsewhere.
• After Ah Xing left, Jiang Xiang checked his emotional-value gains and opened two Gold Boxes, receiving several low-rank items and character cards.
• Jiang Xiang opened two Platinum Boxes and obtained the Red Queen Mainframe, Earth Tiger Armor, Senzu Beans, and a special Akainu incarnation card.

Obadiah hired Freddy to keep Krillin and reinforcements occupied, then arranged for Tony Stark to be kidnapped. Dr. Gero redirected Tony to an uninhabited island while Ivan Vanko completed his exoskeleton armor and received an invitation to join the Foundation.

• Obadiah agreed to pay Freddy fifty million a day to occupy Krillin and sought help planning an attack on Tony.
• The Military pursued cooperation with Krillin, while Tony and Pepper reviewed assistant applications in Tony's Research Lab.
• A bomb destroyed part of the lab, and Tony ordered JARVIS to protect Pepper in his armor and revoke Obadiah's privileges.
• Tony was knocked unconscious and kidnapped by Dr. Gero's subordinates while Krillin was kept busy facing Tien Shinhan.
• Dr. Gero ordered his subordinates to take Tony to an uninhabited island off the West Coast instead of the Afwer Region.
• Ivan Vanko finished a mechanical arm for his exoskeleton armor, and Dr. Gero gave him an invitation to join the Foundation and told him to find Ah Xing in New York.

Tony Stark learned that weapons bearing the Stark name had killed Faiwu’s family, while Ivan Vanko set out to find Tony after Dr. Gero revealed his people had abducted him. Tony remained imprisoned, quietly resolving to act if he survived.

• Tony Stark woke in captivity, and Faiwu told him that a bomb stamped with “Stark” had killed his family after Tony tried to persuade him to leave crime.
• Tony realized Obadiah had been selling weapons directly to local armed groups and remained locked in his cell.
• Ivan Vanko told Dr. Gero that he wanted to find Tony and prove the Vanko name was better than Stark.
• Dr. Gero revealed that his men had abducted Tony and gave Ivan their location and contact details.
• Tony asked Faiwu what would happen to him, and Faiwu said someone from above would decide while Tony waited in captivity.

Ivan Vanko visited the base holding Tony Stark and challenged him to build an Arc Reactor in exchange for his freedom. Meanwhile, Natasha continued her undercover work in the Distillery as S.H.I.E.L.D. investigated its expansion and Kaitou Kid’s equipment.

• Ivan arrived at the base and reviewed the squad’s file, learning that Obadiah had masterminded Tony Stark’s kidnapping.
• Ivan freed Tony from the electrified barrier and offered to release him if he built an Arc Reactor within a month and admitted Stark was inferior to Vanko if he failed.
• Tony accepted Ivan’s bet and took the materials list, while Ivan planned to provoke him by revealing how quickly he could build a reactor himself.
• Natasha continued her twenty-seventh day undercover in the Distillery, where Jiang Xiang used Kidd to recruit new members without appearing in person.
• Nick Fury sent Natasha to investigate the Distillery’s expansion and discover who made Kaitou Kid’s unusual equipment.

Jiang Xiang sent the Distillery’s undercover recruits to retrieve a mysterious item, using the mission to bring them to a box at an abandoned construction site. Natasha and the other agents opened it and discovered a glowing, floating mask, leaving them wary of one another.

• Jiang Xiang reviewed the Distillery’s recruited employees and found that they were undercover operatives from several organizations.
• Kidd assigned Bouvier to retrieve an item from a marked location and took Sherlock aside after the meeting.
• Natasha, Bouvier, Connor, and two other agents followed the map to a construction site and searched separately.
• Natasha found the box, chose not to open it alone, and called the others back.
• Bouvier opened the box, revealing a blue-glowing mask that floated into the air as the five agents spread out and watched one another warily.

Natasha and her team were intercepted by Black Tiger Ah Fu, then recalled to S.H.I.E.L.D. to help search for the missing Tony Stark. During interrogation, Ah Fu revealed that he had attacked them under the orders of a powerful man named Akainu.

• Ah Fu attacked Natasha’s car, but Natasha dodged his moves and knocked him out with a stun device.
• Headquarters agents took Natasha and her team back to S.H.I.E.L.D., where Nick Fury explained that they were diverting personnel to search for Tony Stark because Howard Stark had helped found the organization.
• Natasha questioned Ah Fu, who claimed he had attacked the car to rob them, but she recognized that he was hiding the real reason.
• Natasha explained S.H.I.E.L.D.’s role, and Ah Fu asked whether they feared Lord Akainu.
• Ah Fu said Akainu had raised him and could spew fire, while Natasha and Nick Fury assumed Akainu was a mutant.

Natasha learned that Alfred believed the stolen mask could grant supernatural powers, while Nick Fury took it to a S.H.I.E.L.D. research base. Jiang Xiang opened his first Diamond Box and received five items, including a rule-bound building scene card and an incarnation card for Jing Tian.

• Natasha questioned Alfred, who said the mask came from the Island Nation’s supernatural world and could help people become supernatural beings.
• Natasha asked Nick Fury how to handle the mask, and he sent her to join the team searching for Tony Stark.
• Nick Fury examined the mask, chose not to consult Old Man, and carried it to a S.H.I.E.L.D. base dedicated to research.
• Jiang Xiang saw that his emotional value had passed one million and decided to open his first Diamond Box.
• Jiang Xiang received a Skeleton Key, a rule-bound building scene card, Snow Mastiff Armor, a Shukaku incarnation card, and a special Jing Tian incarnation card.

Coulson visited Freddy's fortune-telling shop to find out whether Tony Stark was alive after S.H.I.E.L.D. failed to locate him. Freddy demanded $500,000 for the answer, and Coulson returned after Nick Fury authorized the payment.

• Coulson investigated a wave of unexplained deaths in New York, but neither S.H.I.E.L.D. nor Old Man found the cause.
• Coulson went to Freddy's Fortune-Telling Shop and asked whether Tony Stark was still alive.
• Freddy placed a coin showing “Yes” on the table and charged Coulson $500,000 for the answer.
• Coulson contacted Nick Fury, who authorized the expense and told him to observe how Freddy got his answers.
• Coulson arranged the funds and returned to Freddy, saying they were ready.

Coulson paid Freddy for information and learned that Tony Stark was alive and that a creature called Biter had killed people in New York. Nick Fury redirected the investigation toward Biter, while Yan Shuangying considered how to escape his guest status at S.H.I.E.L.D.; the chapter ended with Old Man examining books about the creature.

• Coulson paid Freddy to confirm Tony Stark was alive, but Freddy said locating Tony would cost Coulson his fortune.
• Freddy told Coulson that an Uncanny called Biter had committed the New York murders and was last seen near Manhattan Street Sign 65.
• Coulson reported Freddy’s information to Nick Fury, who ordered him to suspend the search for Tony and prioritize the murder investigation.
• Nick Fury considered the growing supernatural research efforts and the need to accelerate research into the Mask and the Tesseract.
• Coulson passed Yan Shuangying in S.H.I.E.L.D.’s recreation hall, while Yan privately planned to become an external contractor and escape his confinement.
• Coulson matched the archives to Freddy’s description and called Frank, who told Old Man that the monster was called Biter; Old Man began consulting his books.

Frank found the financier’s home full of victims marked by bite wounds and left without learning who was behind the attacks. While Coulson and Yan Shuangying searched for the Biter, they found a bitten police officer who was still alive and brought him to a S.H.I.E.L.D. medical station, where he regained consciousness.

• Frank investigated the financier’s base and found its occupants dead with only bite marks, then slipped away after suspecting the Biter had struck again.
• Frank spotted Coulson’s group searching nearby and hid using Old Man’s Breath-Concealing Spell.
• Coulson searched the streets with Yan Shuangying, who had agreed to cooperate temporarily with S.H.I.E.L.D.
• An agent reported that the Biter had killed a supervisor at the Doss Research Institute, alarming Coulson about the threat’s expanding reach.
• Coulson and Yan Shuangying found a bitten police officer in an alley and rushed him to a S.H.I.E.L.D. medical station.
• The doctor found no abnormal test results, and the police officer awoke as Coulson approached his bedside.

Coulson and Yan Shuangying investigated Zhan Li, whose suspicious story and unexplained survival led to another attack by an invisible assailant. The attacker became faintly visible as Zhan Li’s wounds multiplied, while Coulson had no prepared countermeasures; elsewhere, Akainu offered Frank help, but Frank refused and missed Coulson’s message.

• Coulson questioned Zhan Li, who claimed an attacker had bitten him, and Yan Shuangying pointed out holes in his account.
• Coulson ordered Zhan Li kept under surveillance, but Zhan Li began convulsing despite heavy sedation and then attacked the doctor and guard while pleading for help.
• Zhan Li suffered fresh wounds from an unseen attacker, and Yan Shuangying and Coulson spotted a flat, bread-like shape beside his arm as more wounds appeared.
• Coulson admitted he had not prepared the right weapons and secretly messaged Old Man for help.
• Akainu praised Frank’s methods and offered to help him find what he was seeking, but Frank refused and failed to notice Coulson’s message.

Coulson and Yan Shuangying sought Old Man’s help against the Uncanny entity attacking survivors, and he gave them potions to drive it away. Yan Shuangying used one to reveal and repel the biter, while Coulson arrived as it writhed on the floor.

• Coulson and Yan Shuangying brought the unconscious Zhan Li to safety and went to Old Man for help.
• Old Man identified the pancake-shaped monster as an Uncanny entity and gave them potions that could drive it away.
• Coulson and Yan Shuangying split up to protect Zhan Li and patrol for the biter.
• When Zhan Li began twitching again, Yan Shuangying threw a potion at him, but the potion revealed that the biter had attacked Yan Shuangying instead.
• Yan Shuangying struck the unseen biter with a second potion bottle, revealing a grayish-white creature shaped like a large mouth, and Coulson arrived.

Coulson brought Yan Shuangying to Freddy’s Fortune-Telling Shop, where Freddy explained ways ordinary people could gain power to fight the uncanny. After S.H.I.E.L.D. agreed to give Freddy half of any sacrificial spirit items they obtained in exchange for information, Frank asked Freddy who had targeted his family and was told to retrieve the Ninja Mask.

• Coulson took Yan Shuangying to Freddy’s Fortune-Telling Shop and asked how ordinary people could deal with the uncanny.
• Freddy described several methods, including acquiring a sacrificial spirit item by meeting a building’s conditions and trading lifespan for power.
• Coulson called Nick Fury, and S.H.I.E.L.D. negotiated an agreement to give Freddy half of the sacrificial spirit items they obtained for information about the building.
• Frank asked Freddy who had targeted his family, and Freddy asked him to retrieve the Ninja Mask from a location shown on a map.

Frank learned that his family had been attacked because of a serum experiment and promised to bring Freddy the Mask. Meanwhile, Tony completed Ivan Vanko’s reactor, escaped captivity, and learned that Obadiah Stane had betrayed him; he reunited with Rhodey and asked about Pepper and Stark Industries.

• Frank saw “Serum Experiment” appear in the Silver Ring Book, understood why his family had been attacked, and left to bring Freddy the Mask.
• After three weeks of work, Tony finished an Arc Reactor with Faiwu’s help, and Ivan gave him a mocking booklet before having him taken away.
• Tony found that the booklet named Obadiah Stane as the man who had plotted against him, then tore up the pages and called Rhodey for help.
• Rhodey picked Tony up by helicopter, and Tony asked whether Pepper was safe and how Stark Industries was doing.

After returning home, Tony Stark announced that Stark Industries would shut down its weapons divisions, citing the dangers of weapons trafficking and the evidence he had uncovered. Pepper confirmed that Obadiah had betrayed him, and Tony began examining personnel changes at the company as he wondered who he could trust.

• Pepper reunited with Tony at the airport and took him to a villa, where Tony ordered JARVIS to revoke Obadiah Stane's permissions.
• Tony asked Pepper to arrange a press conference and announced that Stark Industries would end weapons research and manufacturing.
• Obadiah tried to dismiss Tony's announcement as a joke, then warned Tony he would destroy Stark Industries and left.
• Pepper checked company records and confirmed that Obadiah had been behind the betrayal.
• Tony spoke with military contacts, including Rhodey, then reviewed company personnel files and worried about whom he could trust.

Obadiah hired Tien Shinhan as a bodyguard while Tony prepared to strengthen his position at Stark Industries and asked Krillin about finding more fighters. Obadiah’s attempts to bring in armed gangs were thwarted by Nick Fury’s S.H.I.E.L.D. contingent.

• Obadiah met Freddy and paid him a five-million-dollar introduction fee to contact Tien Shinhan.
• Tien Shinhan agreed to work as Obadiah’s bodyguard for a hundred thousand dollars per day.
• Tony told Pepper to buy back Stark Industries shares, and Krillin warned that another attacker could keep him occupied.
• Tony asked Krillin whether he knew other strong fighters, then told Happy to prepare a press conference at the Rimen Five-Star Hotel.
• Obadiah learned that the armed men he had contacted had been arrested or deported after Nick Fury’s S.H.I.E.L.D. contingent intervened.

Tony Stark announced the Stark Energy Group and unveiled the Arc Reactor, sending Stark Industries' shares soaring and drawing intense interest from companies and government organizations. After days of dealing with the resulting attention, Tony returned home with Krillin, who sensed an intruder in the villa and attacked Nick Fury.

• Tony unveiled the palm-sized Arc Reactor and announced that the Stark Energy Group would develop practical applications for it.
• The announcement restored confidence in Tony and sent Stark Industries' share price climbing, leaving Obadiah Stane regretting that he had sold most of his shares.
• Energy companies, intelligence services, and other organizations crowded Freddy's shop and pursued access to the reactor after Tony tested it at Stark Tower.
• Krillin sensed someone inside Tony's darkened villa, and Tony put on prepared armor components as they approached.
• Krillin fired a restrained Kamehameha at Nick Fury, who survived behind energy-shielding and defensive equipment.

Nick Fury visited Tony Stark to recruit him for the Avengers Initiative, but Tony resented his break-in and questioned S.H.I.E.L.D.'s credibility after reading the file. The initiative caught Tony’s interest, and Krillin’s recollection of a similar team in Langya left Tony asking why it had disbanded.

• Nick Fury revealed his identity to Tony after Krillin nearly attacked him, then left a file about the Avengers Initiative when Tony refused to hear him out.
• Nick Fury reflected on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s funding troubles and his reasons for wanting Tony as a financial backer and weapons supplier.
• Tony read that Howard Stark had helped found S.H.I.E.L.D. and began doubting the file because his father had died in a car accident.
• Tony showed Krillin the Avengers Initiative, and Krillin questioned its name before recalling that a similar team in Langya had disbanded.
• Tony asked Krillin why the Langya team had disbanded.

Jiang Xiang unlocked a new fusion feature and combined two cards into an S-rank Giant Spirit God incarnation, then used a Guidance Beacon and summoned his Shadow Dimension. A mysterious magic portal opened in his room just as he was about to inspect the shop’s final new item.

• Tony Stark wondered whether he could protect the world by forming his own team instead of joining the Avengers Initiative.
• Frank told Jiang Xiang that he had found the mastermind targeting his family, and Jiang Xiang later spotted a fire that he suspected Frank had started.
• Jiang Xiang checked his emotional value and bought the fusion feature after discovering that the shop had refreshed.
• Jiang Xiang fused his A-rank Jing Tian card with his C-rank Big Baby card and received an S-rank Giant Spirit God incarnation card.
• Jiang Xiang bought a Guidance Beacon and summoned his Shadow Dimension, sensing an unexplained change in himself.
• A pale yellow circular magic portal opened in Jiang Xiang’s room as he prepared to inspect the shop’s third item.

The Ancient One visited Jiang Xiang after he became a dimensional lord, questioned him about his dimension and abilities, and asked him to protect Blue Star. She invited him to Kamar-Taj and left without probing further, while Jiang Xiang remained unsure of her intentions.

• The Ancient One arrived through a magic portal and found Jiang Xiang's dimension surprisingly small.
• The Ancient One examined Jiang Xiang's possible futures, recognized his potential, and asked whether his dimension could evolve.
• Jiang Xiang confirmed that his dimension could evolve and described his other abilities as gifts from friends in other dimensions.
• The Ancient One asked Jiang Xiang to protect Blue Star, invited him to Kamar-Taj, and left an address behind.
• Jiang Xiang wondered why The Ancient One had chosen not to investigate him further, then went to bed.